Heel lift



Patented Mar. 1, 1932 BENJAMIN w. KLEIN, on NEW Yonk, my.

HEEL LIFT Application filed April 9, 1930. Serial No. 442327;

This inventionrelates to heel lifts, and more particularly to a shoe heel lift of rub- "ber or other resiliently yieldable cushioning material such asis commonly employed as 5 the top lift of the shoe heel for sound deadening purposes and to relieve the body of the wearer of shock or jarin walking.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a heel which produces cushioning ef- 10 fects of a distinctly novel type in this art. I

:have found that by forming the bottom surface of the rubber heel with a cavity, that eX- tends almost to the opposite orlift face of the heel, so that a very thin wall between the cavity bottom and lift faceis formed, and, at

the sametime, enclosingthe liftface with a lipor rand, so that it is spaced from the lift of theshoe when the heed is attached thereto, and also forming a projecting portion which extends from its point of attachment, with the said thin wall to a point beyond the bottom surface of the heel, the heel will function with a cushioning action created by the above noted features, to provide a much more yielding or soft engagement with the ground. This supplemental cushioning effect is obtained due to the fact that the projection engages the surface being walked upon in advance of the engagement of the entire bottom surface. A certain amount of the jar of the step is taken up by the projection, and transmitted therethrough to the thin wall which permitted to flex or give due to its spacing from the leather lift.

It is an object and purpose of my present invention to provide such a rubber heel lift for shoes having certain novel features of construction affording a maximum holding engagement with the ground surface to pre- 0 vent slipping and also operatingto produce uniform wear of the tread face of the heel lift around the marginal edge thereof.

More particularly, inone embodiment 'of the invention "I provide the tread face of the 4 heel lift with a cavity therein acting to produce a partial vacuum upon compression'of the lift, an integral part of the lift projecting from the wall of said cavity beyond the tread face of the heel and spaced-from the perimeter of the cavity, said part adapted to flex relative to the body of the heel structure and to thereby loosen or dislodge dirtor snow collecting in'said cavity, upon the return'of the heel structure to its normal condition."

7 It is a furtherobject of my invention to provide a rubber lift forshoeheels having the above noted advantageous features, which is simple and inexpensive in its construction and capable'of comparativelylong and efii- V cient service. V v

lVith the above and other obj ects iii-view, the invention consists in the improved rubber shoe heel lift, and in the form, construction and relative arrangement of its" several parts as will be hereinafter more fully de scribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and subsequently incorporated in the subjoined claim 5 y In the drawings, wherein I have disclosed several simple and practical embodiments of the invention, and in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several 'views,'

Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of my improved heel lift;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on an enlarged onthe line 22 of scale taken substantially Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the condition of the heel lift" when placed under compression; Fig. dis a fragmentary'plan View similar to Fig. 1 showing a slightly modified form of the device, and j j w j Fig. 5 -is a detail sectional view taken on the line 53- 5 of Fig. 4. f

Referring in detail to the drawings, 5 designates the heel lift which is of'the conventional outline form or shape, and is formed in a suitable mold from rubber or other re silient composition material. Theupper face of this rubber heel lift which is opposed to the leather heel of the shoe is slightly dished in the usual manner and provided at the side and rear margins thereof with the inclined rand surface indicated'at 6, which it is noted, is effective to maintain the lift surface of the heel enclosed thereby in spaced relation to the leather lift.

The tread face 7 of the heel lift is provided substantially centrally thereof with a cavity 8. As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, this cavity is of circular form and the wall thereof describes a single continuous arc on every line of cross section. Surrounding the cavity 8, the body of the heel lift is provided with the spaced bores indicated at 9 to receive the attaching nails and washers, and each of these bores at the tread surface 7 of the heel is surrounded by an annular protuberance or rib 10.

A part 11 of the heel structure is integrally formed with the wall of the cavity 8 and in the normal condition of the heel, as seen in Fig. 2, protrudes or extends beyond the tread surface? thereof and also slightly beyond the plane of the ribs 10. This part 11 preferably includes a plurality of spaced portions 12 which are also spaced from the perimeter of the cavity 8 and are capable of a certain relative flexing movement with respect to each other and also in relation to the :wall of the cavity.

. The heel lift as above described, is attached to the leather shoe heel in the usual manner, and when subjected to compression under the weight of the wearer by contact with the ground surface, the central part 11 obviously is first subjected to the full effects of the load pressure, thereby flexing and compressing the relatively thin central part of the rubber structure of the heel as indicated at 13 which is accompanied by a disposition of the extremity of the part 11 with the bottom surface as defined bythe bead 9 and a drawing of the walls of the cavity 8 around the part 11 inwardly towards the center of the lift, as will be readily seen from a comparison of Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. In this compression and distortion of the central part ofthe heel lift having the cavity 8 and the part 12, a partial vacuum will be produced in said cavity, which in addition to the frictional contact of the part 11 with the ground, effectually prevents slipping. This localization of the forces of compression at the inner central part of the heel lift result-s in a desirable balancing effect, and produces substantially uniform contact of the marginal'portion of the tread face? of the heel with the ground surface so that uniformity of wear of this part of the heel will result.

One of the more important results is the cushioning action of thispart 11 which first engages the surface being walked upon. The

full jar or shock of the step is received by this part 11 and, in addition to being partially taken up therein, a large portion of the shock is transmitted through this part to the thin wall of the bottom of the cavity, which is 8 substantially follow the contour of the part 11 and are disposed in spaced parallel relation to the several spaced portions 12 of said part. In both embodiments of the device, I have elected to form the part 11 substantially in the shape of the letter K. This however, is not essential, and the said part may be of various other shapes or forms which will produce the desirable functional results above referred to.

From theforegoing description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction, manner of use and several advantages of my present invention will be clearly and fully understood. It will be seen that by a very simple addition to the conventional rubber heel lift, I have materially enhanced the serviceability of such devices, increasing to an appreciable extent the period of useful service without replacement, and obtaining a more evenly balanced cushioning effect with increased assurance against slipping on icy or other treacherous surfaces. I have disclosed several desirable and practical structures whereby these several advantages may be obtained, but it will be understood that the essential features of my present invention may also be incorporated in various other alternative structural forms, and I therefore, reserve the privilege of resorting to all such legitimate changes therein as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A shoe heel'lift comprising a body of resilient compressible material having a group of protuberances on its tread face arranged in spaced relation to the marginal edges of the lift and said tread face being further provided within said group of protuberances with a cavity, and an integrally formed part projecting from the surface of said cavity in spaced relation to the perimeter thereof at the tread face of the lift and normally extending from the open side of said cavity and beyond said protuberances.

2. A shoe heel lift comprisinga body of resilient compressible material having a semispherical cavity centrally formed in its tread face and of a maximum depth exceeding onehalf of the thickness of the lift, and a'plurality of angularly related parts integrally formed with the concave Wall of said cavity and directly integrally connected with each other at the center of the cavity, said parts at their free ends terminating in spaced relation to the perimeter of said cavity and normally projecting beyond the tread face of the lift whereby said parts may flex relative to each other under impact pressure.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name hereto.

BENJ. W. KLEIN. 

